Hen welfare in different housing systems

Animal welfare and society concerns finding the missing link.

From 2012 onwards, all laying hens in Europe will need to be housed either in furnished cages or non-cage systems (aviaries or floor-housing systems). In terms of animal welfare, furnished cages and non-cage systems both have advantages and disadvantages. Data on direct comparisons between the two, however, are limited. The aim of this study was to carry out an on-farm comparison of laying hens' welfare in furnished cages and non-cage systems. To meet this aim, six flocks of laying hens in furnished cages and seven flocks in non-cage systems (all without an outdoor run) were visited when hens were around 60 weeks of age and a number of measures were collected: behavioural observations, fearfulness, plumage and body condition, incidence of bone breaks, bone strength, TGI-score (or Animal Needs Index), dust levels and mortality. In non-cage systems, birds were found to be more active and made greater use of resources (scratching area, perches) than in furnished cages. These birds also had stronger bones and were less fearful than birds in furnished cages. On the other hand, birds in furnished cages had lower mortality rates, lower incidence of bone fractures and lower airborne dust concentrations. When all the welfare indicators were integrated into an overall welfare score, there were no significant differences between systems. These results indicate that furnished cages and non-cage systems have both strong and weak points in terms of their impact on animal welfare.

Welfare assessment of laying hens in furnished cages and non-cage systems: an on-farm comparison

Performance and welfare of laying hens in conventional and enriched cages

Toward a global perspective on farm animal welfare

1 A 3-year trial was carried out of cages for laying hens, occupying a full laying house The main cage designs used were 5000 cm2 in area, 50 cm high at the rear and furnished with nests and perches F cages had a front rollaway nest at the side, lined with artificial turf FD cages also had a dust bath containing sand over the nest H cages had two nest hollows at the side, one in front of the other They were compared with conventional cages 2500 cm2 in area and 38 cm high at the rear 2 Cages were stocked with from 4 to 8 ISA Brown hens per cage, resulting in varied allowances of area, feeder and perch per bird No birds were beak trimmed In F and FD cages two further treatments were applied: nests and dust baths were sometimes fitted with gates to exclude birds from dust baths in the morning and from both at night; elevated food troughs, with a lip 33 cm above the cage floor, were compared with standard troughs 3 Management of the house was generally highly successful, with temperature control achieved by ventilation Egg production was above breeders' standards and not significantly affected by cage design More eggs per bird were collected when there were fewer birds per cage but food consumption also then tended to be higher 4 The number of downgraded eggs was variable, with some tendency for more in furnished cages Eggs laid in dust baths were often downgraded Those laid at the back of the cage were frequently dirty because of accumulation of droppings H nests were unsuccessful, with less than 50% of eggs laid in the nest hollows However, up to 93% of eggs were laid in front rollaways, and few of these were downgraded 5 Feather and foot damage were generally less in furnished than in conventional cages, greater where there were more birds per cage With an elevated food trough there was less feather damage but more overgrowth of claws In year 2, mortality was greater in cages with more birds 6 Pre-laying behaviour was mostly settled in front rollaway nests Dust baths were used more for pecking and scratching than for dust bathing Comfort behaviour was more frequent in furnished cages than conventional, although still not frequent Locomotion was strongly affected by number of birds per cage or by space per bird, being reduced by crowding Most birds perched at night except in one treatment providing only 107 cm perch per bird 7 Behaviour was more unrestricted and varied, and physical condition was better, in furnished than in conventional cages However, egg production will cost more in furnished cages, partly because more eggs are downgraded Dust baths must be fitted with gates that the birds cannot open from outside, but gates for nest boxes were found unnecessary If a low perch is fitted it must be far enough from the back of the cage for birds to walk there 8 Where there was less space per bird (more birds per cage) than the requirements in the 1999 European Commission Directive on laying hens, there were: fewer eggs per hen, but still above the breeders' target; lower food consumption; more feather and foot damage, but less than in conventional cages; higher mortality in one trial out of three; less freedom of movement However, the results were still very good even with 8 birds per cage, and support the principle that furnished cages provide an acceptable way of protecting the welfare of laying hens

Development of furnished cages for laying hens

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Development of furnished cages for laying hens